The ship is now rerouting and will continue with its schedule to dock in Italy on SundayCredit: Marine Traffic

In a statement released earlier today, the Maltese government said the decision was taken "following public alarm raised by misleading information given by a local media outlet through a story riddled with partial truths and erroneous details."

The government did not name the media outlet but said that it had decided to reroute the ship "so as to avoid further concern among the Maltese public."

In a statement, MSC Opera said: "MSC Opera's next port of call will be Messina, Italy on Sunday as scheduled.

"There are no passengers or crew members currently on board the ship who have or have had any flu-like symptoms.

"The health and safety of our passengers and crew will always remain our top priority."

Earlier today doctors in Malta had threatened to take industrial action if the cruise ship was allowed to dock which was due to arrive at 6 pm on Friday.

However, despite major concerns from doctors on the island, the statement reiterated that the "ship's medical records confirmed her clean bill of health and 'there is no case of coronavirus on board.'"

The infected Austrian passenger left the ship at Genoa, Italy, on February 28 after being diagnosed with the bug.

On March 4, the 2,300 passengers, including 39 Britons, were told to remain on the MSC Opera after one passenger had tested positive.

most read in news

HOUSE OF HORRORS

Corpses of military dad, wife, kids & pets found in 'booby-trapped' house

'I'VE GOT A TAN'

Man in BLACKFACE dragged through crowd after arrest at anti-racism event

'MAJOR INSTIGATOR'

SWARM WARNING

One passenger on board the MSC Opera, Mike Knotts, said that he believes he saw the infected passenger.

He said: "There was one guy that didn't react too well at all. We were in line at the services desk and he was very agitated. He was quite hot, he was the only one I saw that was upset."

According to the Texan native, after the man was removed from the ship, thermal scanners were brought on board.

"The next day everybody had to go through a thermal scan. There were two on the deck we were on. I also noticed more crew in the public spaces wiping down hand railings and elevator and mirror doors."

Mike, who now lives in Frankfurt, Germany with his wife, said that "everyone was on a sour note because the itinerary had changed."

The cruise will continue with its plans to dock in Italy on Sunday.

So far there have been 197 deaths from the virus in Italy with over 4,500 detected cases.

Earlier this week schools and universities were shut down over fear that the virus could spread.

4

Mike Knotts in Greece before the coronavirus scareCredit: Facebook

4

The letter from the captain about the infected passengerCredit: Mike Knotts

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.